New trends in sharemarket regulationEdited by R P Austin
and I L von Kowalski
Ross Parsons Centre of Commercial, Corporate and Taxation Law
ISBN: 9781742102627

The integrity of securities markets is critical to investor confidence post-GFC. However, market misconduct such as insider trading and market manipulation is putting this integrity at risk. As a result, market regulators such as ASIC and the SEC have ramped up their programs to detect and enforce against such misconduct. As former ASIC Commissioner Shane Tregillis put it, 'we want to send a clear message that if you engage in market misconduct you will be detected and ASIC will take action.'

ASX has passed the regulatory reigns to ASIC in preparation of opening the market to competition. Chi-X opened a competing market in October 2011 and others may follow. This shift from a self-regulated to a government-regulated market has provided ASIC with much needed control over the detection of market misconduct, in addition to its investigation and enforcement responsibilities.

With ASIC's new dedication of resources (including a dedicated market integrity team), there is hope that such market misconduct can be stamped out.

In anticipation of competition in its market, ASX has upgraded its technology, cut fees and endured the rejection of its proposal to merge with its Singaporean counterpart. On an international scale, the consolidation of exchanges is increasingly popular - what went wrong in the ASX-SGX bid and what is the prospect of ASX merging with another exchange in the future?

Professor Langevoort of Georgetown University and a group of Australian financial and legal experts came together on 23 August 2011 at the Supreme Court Conference on Corporate Law, to explore these issues. This book is, in part, an edited transcript of that conference and also contains written papers on these issues. The contents of this book will be of interest to lawyers, bankers, company directors and others interested in Australian and global securities markets.